Lord Fairfax Community College (LFCC) has been awarded funds from two grant projects – one from the federal government, the other from the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) – aimed at improving outcomes for unemployed or underemployed workers.

LFCC will receive a significant piece of a $4.95 million grant awarded to the Shenandoah Valley Workforce Investment Board (SVWIB) for its part in providing training for jobs in the region’s emerging “green” technology manufacturing and renewable energy industries.

This 3-year grant will allow LFCC to collaborate with area organizations in the newly formed Shenandoah Valley Energy Partnership to provide training focused on employing dislocated and unemployed workers and increasing skills for current workers. The training will cover three industries most impacted by the “greening” of technology: 1) manufacturing of green technology and industrial energy efficient processes, 2) renewable energy support for photovoltaic and solar power and 3) efficiency assessment, green construction and retrofitting.

Partners in the Shenandoah Valley Energy Partnership include Virginia Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors., Virginia Manufacturers Association, James Madison University, Shenandoah Valley Workforce Investment Board, Inc. and Invenergy LLC. The goals of the partnership include training more than 1,000 individuals in 10 counties and developing a Sustainability Center that promotes energy awareness and provides an education and dissemination hub for employers.

Participants will engage in a comprehensive wrap-around support program in which they will accumulate basic- to industry-specific skills as they advance along an individualized three-tiered training pathway. The role of the community college will include providing credit and non-credit programs which award nationally recognized credentials.

The second grant award is from the VCCS in the amount of $161,000 for the On-Ramp Program, which provides rapid response assistance for unemployed and underemployed students.

The LFCC monies will be used to support career advisory functions, including student advising, career planning, outreach and financial assistance for unemployed workers to enroll in college programs to improve their workforce skills and ability to secure new employment.

Workforce Investment Act Rapid Response funds will support this program.

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Founded in 1970, Lord Fairfax Community College is a multi-campus public institution of higher education. With four locations — Middletown, Warrenton, Luray-Page County and most recently, Vint Hill— the College serves eight localities in the Shenandoah Valley and northern Piedmont regions. The localities are the counties of Clarke, Fauquier, Frederick, Page, Rappahannock, Shenandoah and Warren and the city of Winchester. LFCC offers more than 75 associate degree and certificate programs in a wide variety of disciplines, in addition to providing access to bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs offered on site by a four-year institution. LFCC also serves the business community by offering workforce preparation programs for employees and employers. LFCC serves more than 9,000 unduplicated credit students and more than 11,000 individuals in professional development and business and industry courses annually.

Lord Fairfax Community College (LFCC) is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award associate degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Lord Fairfax Community College. Lord Fairfax Community College is an equal opportunity institution providing educational and employment opportunities, programs, services, and activities and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, age, religion, disability, national origin, marital status, political affiliation, sexual orientation, or other non-merit factors. LFCC also prohibits sexual misconduct including sexual violence or harassment.